Colon Cancer Survival Statistics Show How Important It Is To Get Early Effective Treatment

Colon cancer survival statistics come from several different sources. Each source has a different method of counting. This process can make these statistics very confusing. But we are simplifying them for you.

There are many ways to measure how long a person will live a colon cancer diagnosis. We are giving you just one measurement. It is called 'overall survival.' Most people just want to know how long they might live, while working with a doctor they trust.

Important things to know about colon cancer survival statistics:

• These statistics are only for the United States - most other countries have worse colon cancer survival statistics
• These results are for survival of cancer 5 years after the diagnosis

Here are colon cancer survival statistics involving the use of drugs/chemo:

• Stage 1: Long-term survival with surgery alone is 96%
• Stage 2: Long-term survival with surgery alone is 86%, but using drugs/chemo improves survival an additional 2-4%
• Stage 3: Surgery and drugs give survival of 49% to 85%
• Stage 4: Overall survival is 5% to 10%

Sometimes patients with colorectal cancer have other cancers due to spreading [metastasizing]. Then the survival rate is lower.

Colon cancer treatment statistics are encouraging:

• In the later stages, drug/chemo therapy is often used along with surgery
• Drug therapy can boost the success of surgery by killing any leftover cancer cells
• The survival rate is much better now than just 10 years ago, in general, and the rate continues to improve with early detection and better treatment

Stage 1 and Stage 2 Cancer

With Stage 1 or Stage 2 cancer, drug therapy is not used as much as in the later stages. According to colon cancer survival statistics, drug therapy only produces a 2 to 4% survival improvement. The risks and side effects may not be worth the benefit. Each person's illness is unique, though. Your doctor may have a good reason for recommending drug therapy. As long as you have an experienced, dedicated doctor, follow his lead and you'll be on the right track.

Stage 3

Surgery is usually not enough to get rid of all the cancer cells. Therefore, drug therapy is usually also used. By receiving both treatments, your survival rate is 49% to 89%.

• Doctors sometimes use combinations of drugs to treat advanced cancer
• Using multiple drugs can slow or stop its progression for at least a few years
• You have a much better chance of survival if only a few lesions have formed outside the colon
• Imaging techniques to find these lesions and surgical methods to remove them improve every day
• improvements in patient outcome is based upon colon cancer research in the last 20 years

Advanced Stages

Survival rates drop to less than 10% when cancer reaches Stage 4.

Radiation therapy is very useful in colorectal cancer

Radiation therapy for colorectal cancer lowers the risk of recurring cancer to about 7%. Without radiation, the disease recurs in 50% of patients with rectal cancer. Radiation is very effective for this type of cancer.

• Your doctor may use microwaves or freezing to destroy tumors that have spread to other organs - doctors call this technique ablation
• If you have advanced cancer, there is a 50% chance that it will travel to your liver
• Using ablation allows the doctor to target the cancer cells

You can improve your chance of beating colon cancer if you eat healthy food and stay as active as possible. Keep your mind and spirit strong!

Remember, everybody's situation is different. You can get the best possible outcome for yourself by:

• Getting screened so you get diagnosed as early as possible
• Getting treated as soon as possible
• Learning all you can about the disease and everything you can do to improve your health
• Pushing your treatment team to address anything that worries you

You can also write to us with any question that you don't see answered in this website and we will do our best to answer you.

Written by Donna Kaluzniak - 4/17/09

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